Posted By:
scgaynorI have been called out.... but I don't mind answering.
I had Messier remove some cards from a scrapbook album, but I have never had Messier "fix" a card for me and to the best of my knowledge (although I have never asked) he does not do restoration on cards, just photos and prints.
I don't alter or restore cards at all. Same goes for photos, autographs, or anything. There are a few reasons for this, but the biggest are that I don't want to run the risk of damaging the consignors property and I simply don't have the time. I have sold items that have been restored in the past (no cards), but will always disclose that information if I have knowledge of it.
My view is that if you believe that a majority of pre 1960 cards residing in 7-10 holders have not been "fixed", then you are in for a big surprise. The real problem for the purist is that there is no way to really tell. The people who grade cards are human and if they have no history of the card (such as Lifson did on the Lajoie), they won't be able to tell if there was restoration or not. There are people out there who can do work that is not detectible and they work with tools as simple as water and their finger nails. Therefore there is no chemical to detect and nothing to show up under a black light. I don't think that there really is a solution to that "problem."
The upside is that even if a card was once a "5" because it had a small crease or bumped corner, and is now an "8", it will remain and "8". I have never head of, and don't see why, a crease would return on a slabbed card.
Please let me know if you need me to clarify.
Scott